I always wanted a personal bodyguard. I wanted one as long as I can remember. I always thought it would be so cool to have a bodyguard who could protect me from anyone on the street, in the subway, in the hallways, on the road, in my apartment, in the movies, at a concert, at a convention, in the park, and in my office. There is no secret that I have a bad case of “thinking the worse” in every situation. I make Woody Allen look brave!

Nothing terrible ever happened to me, but I worry anyway. My natural default is “panic.” There were two incidents in the last two months that made me very uncomfortable.

1-A guy freaked out in a subway car on the way home from work. He was getting more and more and more agitated as he was talking to himself about a situation where the police accused him of carrying a knife. He was screaming obscenities and starting smacking his fist against the subway car window. He was pacing by the door nearest to me. When we got to the next stop, I was blocked from leaving the subway car while everyone else rushed out. Needless to say, I finally escaped.

2-The second time was the situation I wrote about a few days ago when three so-called charity “volunteers” entered my office and intimidated an intern and myself to give them money.

Some people reading this who know me will say I tend to dramatize situations. Let those people laugh all they want.

I finally can put my mind to rest, somewhat. I signed up for MyForce, an application on my smartphone that alerts a security team that something bad “might” happen. You call 911 to report an emergency. MyForce is used to avoid an emergency. You press “an alert” button on your phone and MyForce is immediately monitoring the situation. The GPS on your phone tells them your exact location. If they don’t hear any sounds, the police or a special security squad is immediately dispersed. If you talk to them, they will ask you for your “safe word” and access the situation. Unless you cancel the alert, help will be on its way.

I signed up for a monthly charge of $11.99 and may possibly switch to $119.99 for the year. This is a wonderful digital service for anyone who is alone or gets the heebie-jeebies like me. Too many of us have horror stories about getting stuck in a bathroom, an elevtor, or even a stairwell. Just make sure you take your smartphone with you everywhere and keep MyForce available for action.